Kevin O'shea, 77

4-time Notre Dame All-American

Kevin O'Shea, the first University of Notre Dame athlete named an All-American four years in a row, always denied he had any "natural knack" for playing basketball.

"I wasn't born with a basketball, but I like the game, and I want to be good enough to enjoy playing it," Mr. O'Shea said during his 1946-50 career as the 6-foot-2-inch guard who scored 1,065 points, then the Irish career record.

Mr. O'Shea, 77, who became a first-round NBA draft pick, a pro player and an insurance executive who tried to secure pension benefits for pioneer NBA players, died Friday, Feb. 21, in his native San Francisco.

Mr. O'Shea joined the Coast Guard after starring at San Francisco's St. Ignatius High School and graduating in 1943.

Mr. O'Shea would have preferred to attend a college closer to San Francisco. But to his father, Christopher, a native of Ireland and a former bicycle champion and star in the sport of hurling, the only place for 21-year-old freshman Kevin O'Shea was with the Fighting Irish.

Despite two trick knees, Mr. O'Shea was named All-American each season.

The Irish compiled records of 20-4, 17-7, 17-7 and 15-9 during Mr. O'Shea's years. His scoring averages were 9.6, 11.5, 10.9 and 14.9 points per game.

After graduation in 1950, Mr. O'Shea played for the College All Star team in Chicago Stadium against then George Mikan-led pro champion Minneapolis Lakers.

He played three seasons with the Lakers and Baltimore Bullets and then went into the insurance business in San Francisco.

In the last dozen years, Mr. O'Shea and former Indiana basketball star Bill Tosheff led a largely unsuccessful campaign to obtain some pension benefits for themselves and for about 100 other NBA pioneer players, all of them older than 65.

Mr. O'Shea is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jeanne; three sons, Brian, Timothy and Kevin; two daughters, Catherine Franceschi and Mary Anne; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.